Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

Six months since the start of the Middle East war, the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains largely paralysed, with thousands of sailors still stranded in the Gulf and commodity carrier traffic way below its normal level.

Asian stocks fluctuated Tuesday while oil edged up as investors assess a US plan for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, while tech firms struggled following another down day on Wall Street and ahead of earnings from chip titan Nvidia.

After decades of urging the United States to attack Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally got his wish. But after six months of inconclusive hostilities, Israel may ultimately find itself in a worse position than it was before the war.

Clasping her hands together in prayer, four-year-old Huanle tells God she misses her mum, whom she hasn't seen since Chinese authorities raided their home last year in a crackdown on their unregistered church.

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and the union representing its workers have reached a tentative deal on wages and bonuses, both sides said on Tuesday after a rare full-day strike.

At an impromptu press conference last week, US President Donald Trump waxed lyrical about his helipad, his ballroom and his granite paving stones.

Like many Kuwaitis, Salem Al-Ghanem still vividly remembers Iraqi tanks rolling through his hometown when his small Gulf state faced extinction had US troops not liberated it from invasion.

Feeling dizzy and unwell after cycling to work in Japan's punishing summer heat, warehouse worker Isao Tabuchi headed for his company's newest acquisition: a refrigerator for humans.

Music made by artificial intelligence will be banned from Australia's top charts under new guidelines aimed at protecting "the human nature of artistry", an industry body said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of people looked set to spend another night away from home Monday as a wind-driven fire bore down on the western US city of Reno.

The trade war between the United States and Canada has taken on the flavor of a culture war after the collapse of negotiations last week.

Rescuers using giant excavators searched for victims of a deadly landfill collapse in Guinea on Monday in torrential rain, after residents said they had warned of the precarious situation that has now wiped out multiple members of various families.

Nevada on Monday launched legal action against the administration of US President Donald Trump over a plan that would cut the state's access to the vital Colorado River.

A tornado tore through a village in southwestern France on Monday, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes, authorities said.

Xabi Alonso hailed Chelsea's "special" forwards after Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro combined to inspire a 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday in his first game as Blues boss.

Roger Federer said Monday he is looking forward to this week's celebratory return to Arthur Ashe Stadium to play for the first time since his final US Open in 2019.

Xabi Alonso won his first game as Chelsea boss thanks to Morgan Rogers's debut goal and Joao Pedro's strike after just 31 seconds of a pulsating 3-2 victory against Fulham on Monday.

The United States on Monday removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, rescinding a decades-old designation that came with severe economic restrictions and marking another step in warming ties between the countries.

Oil prices retreated as US Treasury Secretary outlined plans for more sanctions to punish Iran while stock markets mostly faltered on Monday as investors looked ahead to key US inflation data and earnings from Nvidia.

Facebook and TikTok failed to prevent the spread of content produced by Colombian armed groups to recruit children and in some cases even "appeared to promote these posts," Human Rights Watch reported on Monday.

France and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding for a six-billion-euro ($7-billion) Saudi investment to create three theme parks near Paris, including one expected to be manga-themed, the office of the French president said.

Palmeiras have reached an agreement to transfer winger Allan to Manchester City for 40 million euros ($46.6 million), a source at the Brazilian club told AFP on Monday.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday strummed on a guitar and also went to a shopping mall destroyed by a Russian strike as he visited Kyiv to show his country's support for Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, expanding Washington's secondary sanctions threats and warning of dire consequences for countries that do not join the campaign.

France and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding for a six-billion-euro ($7 billion) Saudi investment to create three theme parks near Paris, including one likely to be manga-themed, the office of the French president said.

A French tourist who became stranded on a remote road in Death Valley -- routinely one of the hottest places on Earth -- died as temperatures soared to a punishing 116F (47C), the US National Park Service said.

Stage three of the Vuelta a Espana was abandoned inside the final few kilometres because of a dangerous hailstorm on Monday.

The United States proposed at the UN on Monday to expand an arms embargo on the Sudanese region of Darfur to cover all of Sudan, saying the nation's brutal conflict risks regional expansion.

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has appealed against her four-year doping suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the international body said on Monday.

A mission to verify a fragile ceasefire between the Congolese army and Rwanda-backed M23 armed group was deployed Monday to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the two sides traded accusations of abuse.

Ukraine's allies on Monday pledged to keep up their support amid Russia's escalating attacks and despite threats from Moscow, as they gathered in Kyiv on Ukraine's Independence Day.

Brydon Carse has been withdrawn from the second Test against Pakistan, while an incident outside a nightclub is investigated by the Cricket Regulator, in the latest off-field setback for England.